Monty Don has been the main presenter on the BBC’s Gardeners’ World since 2003 and has become a beloved voice in the gardening community over the past three decades
Monty Don says not all gardens need plants(Image: Getty)
Monty Don admits his views could be seen as “heresy” as he made a bold claim about gardens and plants. Monty, 70, has established himself as a cherished figure in horticultural circles over three decades.
He has served as the principal host of the popular BBC programme Gardeners’ World since 2003. Through the show, audiences catch a peek of Monty’s own garden at his Longmeadow residence in Herefordshire.
The two-acre space features an array of flora including dahlias, gingers, bananas, cannas, tithonias, zinnias and sunflowers. However, in a recent Gardeners’ World column, Monty argued that a garden requires none of these elements.
He penned: “A garden can be anything you want it to be, even if and I know that this is heresy to many people it does not include a single plant.”
According to Monty, plants have evolved into a “dominant feature” across numerous British gardens. Yet he points out that utilising garden plants is a “relatively new” concept, reports the Express.
Monty Don has made bold claims about plants(Image: PA Images/PA WIre)
Rather, Monty emphasises the “Arcadian ideal” exemplified by Lancelot “Capability” Brown, regarded by many as Britain’s finest gardener, and the designed landscapes he created at Stowe, Buckinghamshire. Lancelot’s approach heavily featured sculptures whilst employing “plants as a medium” when required, Monty notes.
Nevertheless, Lancelot faced disapproval from contemporaries during the 18th century, with accusations that he produced “identikit” landscapes utilising grass, water features, and clusters of trees. Despite this, he is believed to have designed the grounds for approximately 170 of Britain’s most distinguished estates.
The gardens in Stowe(Image: Getty)
Monty fondly reminisced about his visit to Mexico and the rooftop garden of architect Luis Barragán. He described it as: “It consisted of pink-painted walls, terracotta walls and nothing else save the sky which Barragán insisted was an essential part of the garden.”
He also highlighted the rock gardens of Japan, noting their minimalist nature with “hardly any plants”. According to him, these gardens are composed of “only gravel, rock and moss” and utilise “elements of the garden as metaphor”.
The iconic garden at Kyoto’s Ryoanji Temple is a prime example, featuring only moss at the base of five clusters of stones. Despite this, Monty acknowledged that his own garden is “happily filled to overflowing with plants”.
The gardens in Rousham(Image: Getty)
Indeed, he regards the best gardens as those rich in plant life. He holds Rousham in Oxfordshire, with its trio of walled gardens, verdant planted borders, and a rose garden, as “the greatest garden ever made”.
Reflecting on his visits to Rousham, he expressed: “Whenever I visit Rousham – which is never often enough because it is to my mind the greatest garden ever made – I am painfully aware that I am only ‘reading’ a fraction of what the 18th-century contemporary visitors would have clearly seen and understood from the various statues, groves and buildings.”
Since taking over the Gardeners’ World mantle from Alan Titchmarsh in 2003, Monty has become a familiar face on the BBC, presenting shows such as Monty Don’s British Gardens and Monty Don’s Japanese Gardens.